Glenford Smith | The secret to career motivation
Published:Wednesday | March 4, 2020 | 12:37 AM
QUESTION: I feel unmotivated and uncharacteristically depressed. This is as a result of the horrific time I have had the last three months. I have been sending out résumés and I have done only three interviews. I failed all three. My husband is carrying the load alone. I feel guilty. What should I do? – F.
CAREERS: Thank you for your letter. Those feelings are a direct result of what has happened and what you continue to make happen. Don't get me wrong; you are not to be blamed for what is happening to you, But you are responsible for what you do with regards to your feelings.
You have all the things on your mind at once – husband and the bills, failed job interviews, sending out résumés and getting all 'nos'.
But you will have to generate a positive mental attitude and expectancy with things having to do with career. You have to generate enthusiasm and motivation. That is a secret that most people are ignorant of. A motivational speaker does not motivate you and inspire you – you inspire and motivate yourself.
Brendon Burchard makes it plain in his book The Motivation Manifesto: “The mother of motivation is choice. In this truth we find our greatest power: the ability to take our impulses and direct our minds to choices and commitments that will serve us".
The key about this attitude is that it is up to you to make it real. Your failure to do this will be felt by the interviewer. If you don't believe in yourself, you cannot hope to have someone believe in you. This is very important to your career.
Even when you've failed three times, you must maintain your enthusiasm.
A quotation attributed to Winston Churchill says: “Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without a loss in enthusiasm”. Don't focus on what's going badly at the moment; think instead on how you want things to turn out. You tend to get what you are expecting – a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy.
There's no reason to feel guilty at all. One can readily understand the feeling of not playing your part, but your husband understands and is sympathetic. You are putting this unnecessary burden on yourself. Unburden yourself.
No employer or interviewer wants a cynical and bitter person who seems to lack basic self-confidence in their abilities. If you feel resentful about having to apply for a job, with the prospect of another failure they will pick this up. They may not be able to tell, but they will be put-off by your pessimism and surliness.
How do you get motivated? Act like it. Sing like you have reason to – you have. Read even a part of a positive, uplifting book. Refuse to read, watch, listen to anything even slightly negative that will get you on a bad frame of mind. Go to YouTube and find motivational videos; I would recommend anything by Les Brown or Napoleon Hill.
You say you're uncharacteristically depressed which seems to indicate that you're not normally that way. I would suggest that you go back to your normally positive self. Think about what employers want. And remember, motivation or pessimism is a choice.
Glenford Smith is president of CareerBiz Coach and author of From Problems to Power and Profile of Excellence.